Cane-cutting attachment for mills



Dec. 11, 1928.

l. MERLIS CANE CUTTING ATTACHMENT FOR MILLS Filed March 22, 1928 3Sheets-Sheet Inwcnror I. Jferizls Dec. 11, 1928.

I. MERLIS CANE CUTTING ATTACHMENT FOR MILLS Filed March 22, 1928 3Sheets-Sheet 2 w w M m I Dec. 11, 1928.

l. MERLIS CANE CUTTING ATTACHMENT FOR MILLS 3 Sheets-Sheet Filed March22, -l928 Patented Dec. 11, 1928.

- UNITED STATES 1,695,196 PATENT OFFICE.

IRA MERLIS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., .AS SIGNOB TO KELVIN ENGINEERING 00.,INC., 01

NEW YORK, N. Y A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE. I

CANE-CUTTING ATTACHMENT FOB MILLS.

Application filed March 22, 1928. Serial No. 263,838:

My present invention relates to improve-.

ments in cane cutting attachments for mills. In the present practice ofthe manufacture ofsugar front sugar cane, very large mills I areemployed which call for a heavy feed of cane stalks tothe mill, andthese stalks are fed very irregularly to the carrier, sometimes in alayer of three or more feet thick and seven feet wide; and theindividual stalks occupy almost endless varieties of situations in'themass both in the horizontal plane and the planes approaching thevertical.

The position of the various stalks in the stratum is com licated fromthefact that many of the stal s are often crooked, as when feeding canethat had been previously blown down in the field; moreover, the mass ofcane stalks'are of irregular depth, owing to the mechanical devices usedin feeding the cane to the carrier.

It has been found in practice that the mass of cane carried bthexcarrier may be more evenly distribute and that the mill will operatemore efiiciently if the individual stalks be cut u into short lengths orsplit longitudinally efore the cane is subjected to the grindingprocess.

For this reason, it has been found desirable to feed the cane tocrushers, Where it is broken up before reaching the mill; and thisaction of the crushers is greatly facilitated if the cane itself be cutup into short lengths before reaching either the crushers or the mill. 7i

To accomplish this purpose, rapidly revolving rotary cutters are usedtransversely of the carrier, in which a series of staggered knives,carried by a rapidly rotating shaft, are caused to cut into the stratumof cane stalks as said stratum moves toward the mill. In this operation,the cane stalks are cut into small pieces making the feed more uniform,and in'better shape to be fed to'the crushers and mills, and increasingthe ca pacity of the mill and the extraction of the juice thereby. 1

These cutters usually consistof knives ar ranged in transverse seriesspirally or otherwise and projecting at right angles from the rotatingshaft upon whic they are mounted. The rind of the cane isvvery hard andthe knives in the act of cutting the cane are subjected to lateralbending stresses when strik mg glancing blows, or when the cane 1s un revenly disposed on the carrier; also when a lateral direction.

great damage to the mills when broken pieces of the knives passwith thecane-between the rollers.

The objects of the present-invention are to overcome the disadvantagesmentioned above and to provide a cutter whose knives will functionefliciently and without breakage from the above mentioned causes.

-With these objects in view, the invention is related mainly with theconstruction of the knife holders and the manner of -connecting theknives to the said holders, and a construction is provided wherein theconnection at the shank of. the knives, where the knives are fastened tothe holder, will absorb-the effect of the lateral forces and act as acushion, thus relieving the knife blade of the stresses caused by theselateral forces. 1

My invention will be more fully understood after reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which like parts 'are indicated by sim ilarreference symbols throughout the several views, and in which Figure 1shows a cross-section through the cane carrier, and a front elevation ofthe rotary cutter, and the means for driving same,

arts being omitted for the sake of clearness 1n the drawings.

Figure 2 shows a section alon the line 2-2 of Figure 1, parts beingomitte for the sake of clearness in the drawin Figure 3, is an enlargedetail view showing a portion of the shaft carrying the knives, withthree pairs of oppositely disposed knives mounted thereon in staggeredrelation.

Figure 4 shows a section along the line, 4-4 of Figure 3, and looking inthe direction of the arrows.

Figure 5 is a detail view showing one of the knives detached from theapparatus.

Figure 6 is a detail view showing one of the washers, which may be usedin securing the knife in place.

Figure is a sectional elevation on a. larger scale, showing the mode ofconnecting the two oppositely disposed knives together, and mounting thesame on the shaft, parts being broken away.

Figure 8 is a plan view of the parts shown in Figure 7,

Figure 9 is a section along the line 9-9 of Figure 7 and looking in thedirection of the arrows.

Figure 10 shows a section, on a smaller scale, along the line 1010 ofFigure 7,'and

looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Figure 11 is a detail view showing a preferred form of elastic bushingfor use on the device, parts being broken away.

A represents a shaft which is journalled transversely of the carrier B,which carrier is provided with the usual slatted conveyer B. This shaftmay be driven in any convenient way, as by means of a steam turbine G,for instance of the De Laval type; or if desired, an electric motor orsteam engine of sufficient power may be used to give the necessary speedof rotation to the shaft A. This shaft is provided with a suitable flywheel D.

Keyed on this shaft are a series of knife holders arranged in staggeredrelation, and

carrying the knives E. These knife holders are carried by housing blocksF, having a hub portion F and oppositely disposed jaws F see Figures 7and 8. These housing blocks are slipped over the shaft and held thereonin staggered relation, and the diverging arms are perforated to receivea plurality of bolts or rivets G, which may be held in place by locknuts G, or they may be riveted in place if desired.

Mounted between the jaws F on opposite 'sides of the housing blocks Fare the knife holders proper H, to which the knives are attached, as bymeans of bolts or rivets I. Each knife may be attached directly to theknife holder, but in order to reinforce the shank of the knife, washersK may be provided, see Figures 6, 7, and 9, which washers are perforatedto receive the bolts or rivets I, and have lugs is engaging the notchesin the side ribs h of the knife holder, as shown most clearl in Figure 7The shanks of the knife holders H are pref erably curved slightly topand bottom, as at it, see Figure 10, to permit a slight twistingmovement in a direction at right angles to the plane of the knife.

The shanks of each of the knife holders H are erforated to receive thebushing J, whic may be of rubber, leather, or other suitable material,preferably of rubber, through which bushing the bolts G may beconveniently inserted, as shown in Figure 7 and thus a yielding bearingis provided for the base of the knife holder, which will yield whenlateral or twisting strains are impressed upon the knife, as will behereinafter more fully described.

The bushings J may be in the form of cylindrical rubber sleeves, but arepreferably corrugated, as shown in Figure 11.

As will be seen, each housing block is provided with a pair of knifeholders, carrying oppositely disposed knives. The number of theseholders on the housing block would depend on the carrier.

For instance, on a seven-foot carrier, there would be about forty ofthese knives. These knives are arranged in staggered relation, so as tomake the cutting more uniform and to distribute the load on the drivingmechanism, this distribution of the load being also assisted by having afly wheel of suitable weight.

\Vhere an electric or other rotary motor is used, the revolving parts ofthe motor would also serve as a fly wheel.

The motor should be of sufficient power to rotate the shaft carrying theknives at a speed of from 200 to 600 revolutions per minute.

The knives are maintained in normal planes at right angles to the axisof the said shaft, and when striking a glancing blow, the rubberbushings yield laterally in either directi'on, and hence the hub end ofthe knife is free to move laterally on the elastic bushing. The knivesvactually float on the bushing, and consequently, the lateral bendingstresses are reduced to such an extent as not to subject the knife toany destructive lateral bending or twisting stresses which causebreakage of knives in the ordinary rigid type of construction. Thebushings permit a lateral movement of the knives when subjected .to alateral or torsional force, and then return the knives to their normalposition relative to the shaft by the elasticity of the bushing aided bythe centrifugal force of rotation. The advantage of these bushings isthat they are elastic, and the shank of the knife is cushioned, and thebushings absorb the shocks caused b the lateral or torsional forces.

It wil be-seen that, with the construction herein described, a twisting'motion of the knife is effected under lateral torsional stressoccasioned by the knife approaching the cane stalks at different angles:these stalks lying in almost every conceivable direction on the carrier.

The centrifugal force will tend to bring the knives back to theirpositions at right angles to the shaft aided by the elasticity of thebushings, and the shocks due to the twisting motion are cushioned by therubber bushing, and the knives, therefore, will not break.

The twisting mot-ion, just referred to, is conveniently eflected by apair of bolts G for each knife, but-three or more of these bolts may beused, if desired. By using a plurality of bolts, the knife holders areheld more securely in place. and yet the yielding movement is permitted,and the knives are prevented from breaking incident to the lateral ortwisting strains previously described. Obviously, the knives may beremoved 'ifrom the housing blocks and sharpened from time to time, ifdesired, or a new knife when needed may be placed in the appropriateholder.

While I have shown washers K giving sup port to the shank of each knife.these washers may be omitted, if desired, and the holder secured bymeans of bolts and nuts or rivets.

Also the holder may be made integral with the knife, as for instance, byforging them together or casting them as one unit. Obviously the housingblocks may be provided with tenons to engage jaws in the knife holders,should such reversal of parts be deemed desirable.

In order to prevent the scattering around of chips of cane stalks,trash, or other solid matter thrown oil by the revolving knives, thecutter is preferably enclosed in a suitable box or casing M, preferablyprovided with a hinged door M.

While I have illustrated and described one embodimentof the invention inits preferred form it will be obvious that various changes might bemadein the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts. which couldbe used without departing from the spirit'of my invention, and I do notmean to limit the invention to such details except as particularlypointed out in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States is 1. A rotary cutter attachment forsugar cane mills comprising a rotary shaft mounted transversely of thecane carrier, with means for rapidly rotating said shaft," a series ofknives mounted radially on said shaft in staggered relation, with meanscomprising elastic means, for holding said knives on said shaft, topermit a yielding twisti movement to the shank of each knife blade,thereby protecting said knife against breaking underglancing blows.

2. A rotary cutter attachment for sugar cane mills com rising a shaft, aseries of knives mounte radially on said shaft in staggered relation,with means, comprising elastic means, for holding said knives on saidshaft, to permit a yielding twisting movement to the shank of each knifeblade, thereby protecting said knife against breaking under glancingblows, when in use.

3. A rotary cutter attachment for sugar cane mills comprising a rotaryshaft mounted transversely of the cane carrier,wit.h means for rapidlyrotating said shaft, a series of housing blocks rigidly connected tosaid shaft in staggered relation, each block being pro vided with twopairs of oppositely disposed jaws, aseries of knife holders having theirshanks projecting between said jaws, a plurality of bolts securing eachholder to said means for securing eachknife to its holder.

4. A rotary cutter attachment for sugar cane mills comprising a shaft, aseries of housing blocks rigidly connected to said shaft in staggeredrelation, each block being provided with two pairs of oppositelydisposed jaws, a series of knife holders having their shanks projectingbetween said jaws, a plurality of bolts securing each holder to saidjaws, a yielding elastic bushing interposed between each of said boltsand the corresponding knife holder, whereby a yielding twistingengagement is provided between the knife holder and the housing block,and means for securing each knife to its holder.

5. A rotary cutter attachmentfor sugar cane mills comprising a rotaryshaft mounted transversely of the cane carrier, with means for rapidlyrotating said shaft, a series of housing blocks rigidl connected to saidshaft in staggered relation, each block being provided with two pairs ofoppositely disposed jaws, a series of knife holders havmg their shanksprojecting between said jaws, a plurality of bolts securing each holderto said. jaws, rubber bushing interposed between each of said bolts andthe corresponding knife holder, whereby a yield ing twisting engagementis provided between the knife holder and the housing block, and meansfor detachably securing each knife to its holder.

6. A rotary cutter attachment for sugar cane mills comprising a rotaryshaft mounted transversely of the cane carrier, with.

means for rapidly rotating said shaft, a series of knives mountedradially on .said shaft in stag ered relation, with means for holdinsaid nives on said shaft, to permit a yielding twisting movement to theshank of each knife blade, said means comprising a plurality offastening bolts with elastic yielding bushings enclosing same.

7. A rotary cutter attachment for sugar cane mills com rising a shaft, aseries of knives mounte radially on said shaft in staggered relation,with means for holding said knives on said shaft to permit a yieldingtwisting movement to the shank of each knife blade, said meanscomprising a lamb ity of fastening bolts with. elastic yielding bushingsenclosing same.

8. A rotary cutter attachment for sugar cane mills comprising a shaft, aseries of housing blocks rigidly connected to said shaft in staggeredrelation, eachblock being provided with two pairs of oppositely disposedjaws, a series of knife holders having their shanks projecting betweensaid jaws,

cane mills comprising a shaft, a series ofhousing blocks rigidlyconnected to said shaft in staggered relation, each block being providedwith oppositely disposed engaging arms, a series of knife holders, aplurality of bolts securing each holder to one of said arms, a yieldingelastic bushing interposed between each of said bolts and thecorresponding knife holder, whereby a yielding twisting engagement isprovided between the knife holder and the housing block, and means forsecuring each knife to its holder.

10. A rotary cutter attachment for sugar cane mills comprising a rotaryshaft mounted transversely of the cane carrier, with means for rapidlyrotating said shaft, a series of knives mounted radially on said shaftin staggered relation, with means comprisin bolts and elastic'bushingstherefor for ho ding said knives on said shaft, to permit a yieldingtwisting movement to the shank of each knife blade, thereby protectingsaid knife against breaking under glancing blows.

IRA MERLIS.

